Carlsbad, CA - RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman addressed the ...



Carlsbad, CA - RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman addressed the Republican Governors Association (RGA) today in Carlsbad, California.  The following is a transcript of Chairman Mehlman’s remarks as prepared for delivery.

 

Thank you, Governor Guinn, for that kind introduction.  You’ve done a wonderful job as Chairman and I look forward to working in partnership with Governor Romney next year. 

 

Thanks to Governor Schwarzenegger for hosting the RGA this year. 

 

Governor, I often say that the Republican Party must always be the party of conservative reform.  Your unrelenting pursuit of reform here in California is an example of that dedication to change – a dedication we all must embrace.

 

I would be remiss if I didn’t also pass my thanks along to Mike Pieper, who has done such good work for the RGA.

 

Finally, thank you all for inviting me here today to Southern California, the home of a hero to me, and to America.

 

Twenty-five years ago last month, Ronald Reagan was elected as the 40th President of the United States.  That election and the next eight years changed the world … and it changed my life.

 

I am here today because of Ronald Reagan.  I was a Reagan Republican before I could vote.

 

1980 was my first campaign.  I was 14, going door to door, dropping literature, ringing doorbells … running from dogs …

 

I was excited to do it.  I was proud to do it.  And I wasn’t the only one.  Our generation was the Reagan generation.

 

We were a generation that remembered the malaise of the 70s … and became politically aware during the resurgence of national pride in the 1980s.

 

We were a generation that shocked our college professors, who were used to protest marches and blame-America-first rallies, by joining the College Republicans … debating the entrenched campus liberals … and chanting ‘USA’ during the 1980 Olympics.

 

The nation mourned when we lost the Gipper last year … but we still honor his memory in so many ways.  And none is more important than by applying the lessons he taught us to the challenges we face today.

 

Today, we are engaged in another great struggle against an ideology of oppression and hate.

 

Today, liberal democracy is again under attack.

 

We are at war … and we must face it on two fronts.

 

First, we must fight abroad.  We must use every tool at our disposal to protect Americans by going after the terrorists before they strike.

 

Second, we must secure our homeland, including protecting our borders.  If we can’t keep terrorists, drug dealers and criminals from crossing our borders, we can’t protect the homeland.

 

For almost a generation, terrorists have declared war on free nations. 

 

From the 1972 Olympic games in Munich …

 

… to the 444 days that American hostages were held in Iran …

 

… to our withdrawal from Beirut in 1983  …

 

… to our withdrawal in 1993 from Mogadishu …

 

They learned that they could declare war on democracy without fearing war in return.

 

But on September 12, under the leadership of George W. Bush, the terrorists got war in return. 

 

We are fighting that war on many fronts … and no front is as important as the one in Iraq.

 

The President has laid out a clear strategy for victory in Iraq, and it has three parts.

 

First, we will continue to train Iraqi military and police to protect their fellow citizens and root out the terrorists.

 

More than 120 Iraqi battalions have been trained and are in the fight.  40 of those battalions are taking leading roles in combat operations.  Iraqis are now securing their own roads and cities.

 

One of our most important offensive operations this year, in Tal Afar, was led not by Americans, but by Iraqi forces … and it was a successful operation.

 

Second, we will continue to work alongside the new Iraqi government to rebuild a strong infrastructure and a growing economy.

 

The progress here has been amazing.

 

For the first time ever, Iraqis are using credit and debit cards.  They are building a modern economy that includes computers, ATMs, and all of the things they need to compete on the world stage.

 

Property values in Baghdad have risen almost 1,000 percent in the past three years.

 

Maybe even more importantly, though is the fact that more and more of the Iraqi people are experimenting with freedom by founding newspapers and radio stations … holding film festivals … opening new businesses … and debating politics in the open without fear of reprisal from a brutal government.

 

And that brings us to the final part of our strategy: we will continue to work with the Iraqi government to bring more and more people into the democratic process, and build the institutions that will guarantee freedom and stability for Iraqis for generations yet to come.

 

Iraqis have gone to the polls twice this year, once to elect an interim government and once to approve a constitution.

 

It is important to note that the second time, Sunnis who had boycotted the first election decided to take part.

 

They realized that the way to impact Iraq’s future will be in the polling booth.  And that is a victory for democracy … and the Iraqi people.

 

This month, Iraqis will go to the polls once again … and for the first time, according to the rules set out in the new constitution that they themselves approved, they will elect a permanent government.

 

We have seen progress … and we have a plan.

 

Yet some Democrats continue to insist that they see neither.

 

A few weeks ago, we saw Democrats try to rewrite history in regards to intelligence leading up to the Iraq war.

 

Now they are doing it again.

 

Democrats did not even wait for the President to finish laying out his plan yesterday before they attacked.

 

While the President was still speaking, Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid released a statement calling the plan  “tired rhetoric” that “once again missed an opportunity to lay out a real strategy for success in Iraq.”

 

Less than an hour after the President finished speaking, John Kerry said “The President is not dealing with a certain kind of reality that’s important to the lives of our troops.”

 

And before noon, Senator – and possible Presidential candidate – Russ Feingold called the plan “the same rhetoric we’ve all heard before” and “a step back.”

 

But some of these same Democrats who are criticizing the President’s plan – or insisting he has none – actually agree with that exact same plan.

 

Two weeks ago, the very same Senator Harry Reid said that it was important to see  “Iraqi forces helping to create the conditions that will eventually lead to the phased redeployment of the United States armed services.”

 

Sounds like the first phase of the President’s strategy, doesn’t it?

 

Or how about Russ Feingold on ABC last weekend?

 

He said we need “to bring together these factions and to have a country that actually functions as a democracy.”

 

Sound familiar?

 

Even more remarkable was Joe Biden, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations committee and one of the President’s most vociferous critics.

 

He wrote last weekend in the Washington Post that “we must forge a sustainable political compromise between Iraqi factions, strengthen the Iraqi government and bolster reconstruction efforts, and accelerate the training of Iraqi forces.”

 

If I didn’t know better, I might think Senator Biden had written that op-ed by simply sitting down and copying the President’s plan.

 

These Democrats are in fundamental agreement about what must happen in Iraq … yet they continue to attack.

 

Why?

 

Ladies and gentleman, dissent is as old as America.  Questioning our leaders is a patriotic act.  No one is immune to criticism … not the President, and not those who are attacking him.

 

But rewriting history … attacking for nothing more than domestic political gain … does nothing to help us win.

 

Are the Democrat attacks designed to help us win the war on terror … or help them win next election?

 

The reality is, despite what they say, we have made enormous progress … and not just in Iraq.

 

If someone had told you on September 12, 2001 that more than four years later, there would be no terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, most of Al Qaeda’s top leaders would be in prison or dead, Saddam Hussein would be in jail awaiting trial, the Taliban would be replaced with an elected government in Afghanistan, Syria would be out of Lebanon, Libya would end its nuclear program, and freedom would be spreading in Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, no one would have believed you. 

 

These results have happened because of the leadership of our President, and the bravery and sacrifice of our soldiers, sailors, airforce and Marines.

 

And following in their example, we will stand by our principle of peace through strength, as Ronald Reagan did – and we will prevail against the terrorists.

 

President Reagan’s legacy also can guide us as we look to how to protect our own borders against the threat of terrorism.

 

President Reagan practiced the politics of ‘and’.

 

Before President Reagan, some politicians counseled strength in response to the Soviets, while others called for peace. 

 

Ronald Reagan was the leader who stood up and said no, we will have peace and strength, because our strength will bring the peace.

 

When economists said we could control either inflation or unemployment, Ronald Reagan said we can do both … and he did it by cutting taxes and insisting on sound money.

 

When others said we can either be energy independent or dependent on foreign oil, Ronald Reagan said it was a false choice and deregulated the oil industry … and gas lines disappeared.

 

Now, we must practice the politics of ‘and’ again as we turn to reforming our immigration system and shoring up our borders.

 

America is a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.

 

In his farewell address to the nation, President Reagan called America a “shining city on the hill” with the doors “open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.”

 

Across the world, over the generations, people looking to make better lives for themselves and their families have been attracted to these open doors.

 

And we are better off economically, culturally, militarily, in every way, stronger because of those brave people.

 

America is safer because of the more than 12,000 soldiers who have been naturalized since the beginning of the War in Iraq.

 

We are wealthier and more productive because of an immigrant, Andrew Grove, whose computer chip technologies are moving our world at faster speeds. 

 

Our culture is richer because of people like

• Architect Cesar Pelli, from Argentina;

• Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, from the Dominican Republic;

• And baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew, from Panama.

 

We are a better nation because of people like our host here, Governor Schwarzenegger.

 

Because of people like Carlos Gutierrez, who was born in Cuba and rose to become Kellogg’s youngest ever CEO and our nation’s first Hispanic Secretary of Commerce.

 

People like the director of the Peace Corps, Gaddi H. Vasquez, the son of migrant farm workers from Mexico.

 

People like Supreme Court nominee Sam Alito’s father, who arrived on these shores at the age of 14 and was teaching high school English by the time he was in his 20s.

 

What’s so powerful about the American Dream is that it has nothing to do with where you come from, what you look like, how you live or how or if you pray.  The American Dream is about your destination, not your origins.  It’s why Ben Wattenberg has called America the “first universal nation.”

 

Unfortunately, throughout our history, there have always been Americans who believed that coming to these shores was a right reserved only for them and their ancestors, and for no others.

 

In an opinion survey in May 1938, fully 68 percent of the public opposed letting refugees from Germany and Austria seek refuge in the United States.

 

In 1924, Morris Sheppard a Democrat Senator from Texas said that the increasing rate of immigrants in American cities “all tends to show that the United States has become a Tower Of Babel.”

 

In 1905, a Republican Senator from Massachusetts, Henry Cabot Lodge, called for “more restrictive legislation” partially because of “the effect upon the quality of our citizenship caused by the rapid introduction of this vast and practically unrestricted immigration.”

 

Ladies and gentleman, that was wrong then … and it is wrong now.

 

Today, somewhere in this country, there’s a family new to America.

 

They might be a family of migrant workers, or day laborers.

 

They might be here in California … or Texas … or Florida.

 

They woke up today and went to work.

 

They will come home at the end of the day to spend time with their children.

 

They will eventually buy a house … or start a business … or write a book.

 

They are building a new life.

 

And that’s what America is all about.

 

We must always be the shining city on the hill, with the doors open.

 

But we also must also always protect ourselves from those who hate us for what we are. 

 

On 9-11, the terrorists didn’t distinguished between fifth generation Americans and those like Milton Bustillo, a new husband and father who came here from Colombia … or Juan Ortega Campos, an immigrant from Mexico, who was saving to build a better life for his children … or Carlos DaCosta, a native of Portugal, who ‘was general manager of Building Services for the Port Authority’ and a father of two.

 

All were among the victims.

 

That’s why controlling our borders is critical to protect all Americans—wherever we’re from, whenever we got here.

 

And it’s why George W. Bush has offered a comprehensive proposal to reform our immigration system.

 

First, we must control our borders.  We need more people, more technology, and more money at the border. There can be zero tolerance for illegal immigration, and porous borders.

 

Second, we need more interior enforcement.  Earlier this year, the President signed the Real ID Act into law to make sure our driver’s licenses and government issued IDs can’t be faked.  We need to hold employers accountable for hiring illegal workers, and real IDs will make this enforcement possible. 

 

Third, we need to ensure fairness to the millions of legal immigrants who entered America the right way, according to the law.  It would be unfair to reward illegal immigrants, while those who followed the laws wait in line.

 

And, finally, we must find ways to meet our economic needs without encouraging illegal immigration. 

 

Just last week, there were news reports about jobs not being filled here in California.

 

If there are people willing to do jobs, and jobs that need to be done, we should be trying to bring those two together, not keep them apart.

 

We can do that by using the same methods and technologies we use to keep terrorists and drug runners from crossing our borders.  If we can identify them, we can also identify carpenters and farmers and invite them in when we need them.

 

If illegal immigrants fill those jobs, then the community suffers because services like hospitals and schools and roads are used, but the local and state taxes to support those services are not paid.

 

And the illegal worker is often the victim too, denied the protection of laws to ensure that he or she is not exploited. 

 

If on the other hand, we fill our economic needs with legal workers, we all benefit. 

 

Those people are paying taxes … they’re producing products … they’re adding to the community.

 

The President understands that family values don’t stop at the Rio Grande.

 

And his plan shows that we can be safe and welcoming … at the same time.

 

The road ahead, both with war abroad and the effort to protect Americans here at home, will include both progress and setbacks. 

 

No one is under any illusions about the difficulties we face or the burdens we’ve had to overcome.

 

And the current political climate presents even more challenges.

 

But we cannot be disheartened.

 

Remember what they said about Ronald Reagan?

 

Helen DeWar was already calling President Reagan “a lame-duck President” the January after his 1984 re-election.

 

Just a little more than half a year later, Helen Thomas wrote that “[Reagan’s] own concern that he may already be losing momentum was evident last week.”

 

By 1987, a Washington Post op-ed writer was claiming that President Reagan was “in danger of fading beyond lame-duckhood to what verges on irrelevance.”

 

It all sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

 

Do you know how the Gipper answered his critics?  With results.

 

He kept right ahead with his fight to bring the Wall down … and he won.

 

He knew that there were things far more important than domestic politics.

 

He was right then … and President Bush is right now.

 

What we are doing in Iraq, across the Middle East, and right here at home, is not something we do to win elections.

 

It is something we do to protect our nation, our people and our way of life.

 

It is something we do to expand freedom and change the world.

 

We will not surrender our ideals for expedience.

 

This is our challenge … to follow in the Reagan legacy.

 

Together, we will rise to that challenge.  Each one of you is doing it in your own state.

 

You are showing the leadership … the resolve … the determination … to follow through on our Republican principles, even when the headline of the day may be discouraging and the opposition is attacking.

 

You are doing it for the same reason Ronald Reagan did, and George W. Bush is …

 

Because it is right.

 

And like Ronald Reagan, we will be remembered for it … not just in 2006, but for years to come.

 

Thank you.”

 

 

 

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